Blood of the Innocent
by Zhyd
Summary: While touring the countryside, Kagome comes across what might be her worst stroke of luck, a man turned half demon by an sinster spirit. Can she help this man without losing her own sanity first?
1. Chapter 1

Well, it's me again, back with a new fic!

Before I begin, a warning. The beginning is a _little_ confusing. If you do get confused, don't worry about it! It'll all make sense sooner or later!

Enjoy!

**Blood of the Innocent**

**Chapter 1- Death is only the beginning**

_To the living, one owes respect, to the dead, one owes only truth._

_The blood of the innocent will stain my soul and I will be cast into the fires of hell once more._

-Flashback-

"What can save me?" the dark haired man asked.

"Only the blood of the innocent." Replied the priest.

"Won't that condemn me?" queried the man.

"Yes." The priest answered.

-New Flashback-

As he stood there, red eyes blazing, blood from the dead children dripping off his hands, all hope and love was lost. He wanted one thing, and one thing only.

Death. _A/N- If this confuses you now, be patient. It'll make sense in a few paragraphs._

-End Flashbacks. Present time Sometime during the feudal era-

A small group stood around a tour guide in a quaint town. Two females and a male stared at the gallows that stood before them, located in a small, grassy square. Tiny wildflowers grew around the wooden structure and colorful butterflies flitted through the air. However, these cheerful images couldn't quite distract the eye from the ghostly construction that stood in the center of the square.

"So, what's the story with this?" Kagome asked, gazing at the gallows.

"They say that a man was hanged here, many years ago." said the tour guide, "According to legend, his body took years and years to decompose, far longer than normal dead men."

"Why did they hang him?" Kagome queried.

"For killing ten innocent children. When they preformed the hanging, he swore to haunt them, to make them pay for their sins. The executioner dropped the platform, but the man's neck did not break. With his dying breath, he said _'Death is only the beginning. I will drag myself from the fires of hell and you will pay.'_" The tour guide finished his story with a shiver. The group around him stared at the gallows.

"Was he innocent?" Sango asked.

"No one really knows, but legend says he was possessed by a demon, and it left his soul forever changed, warped."

"Why hasn't the ghastly thing been torn down?" Miroku asked, gesturing towards the gallows.

"Many have tried," said the tour guide, "but it reappears the next day. Supposedly the man's ghost walks the area at night, but no one has gone outside for the longest time, so it's not really known if it's fact or fiction."

Sango shivered. "That's so creepy!"

"Don't worry, Sango my sweet, _I_ will protect you!" Miroku proclaimed valiantly, wrapping an arm around said girl's shoulder.

The guide looked towards the sky. "The sun will be setting soon..."

Miroku retracted the arm gripping Sango to clutch himself nervously. "Uh... l-lets get a room at the inn, ok?" he said, panicking.

"Why you-!" Sango was about to lunge at the frightened man, when Kagome spoke up.

"Uh... guys?" her meek voice rang out.

"What?" Sango grated.

"I... uh..." Kagome gulped, "lost the money."

All was quiet for a moment, before the word "_WHAT!_" rang through out the entire town.

-Approximately 1 hour later-

"OK! Camp's all set up!" Kagome said, standing up and brushing dirt off her dark green skirt. She placed the sections of rope she had been cutting on the ground and stowed her small knife in the pocket of her skirt.

"Kagome," Sango drawled, "you seem oddly happy about all of this."

"Well, what's not to be happy about?" Miroku said, popping out of nowhere, "I get to sleep under the stars with the lovely Sango!" he finished with a cheer.

Sango growled as she tried to remove Miroku's arms.

A bone-chilling wind blew through camp, ripping at their clothes, spoiling the cheerful mood.

"What was-" Sango started, turning to Kagome. The question died in her throat as she saw the glaze in her friend's eye.

"He's... coming."

"Kagome, what-" Again, Sango didn't finish her question, as Kagome got up and started walking toward the gallows which were located at the dead center of the nearby town.

"Come, Sango." Miroku whispered in her ear, and he started following Kagome.

-At the Gallows-

The moon was high in the sky, and set the whole scene in an eerie relief. There was, for lack of a better word, a man standing on top of the gallows, right above the rope. A different man was hanging from the noose, arms limp, eye's glazed. His hair was long and coal black. His violet eyes were half open, peaceful, blank. The figure above him was drastically different. Long white hair, pure as fresh fallen snow. Amber eyes full of malice, hate, vengeance, and betrayal.

"You killed my flesh," he began, voice almost a whisper, "but not even _hell_ can destroy my _soul!_" he finished with a roar. He leapt off the gallows and started a slow, purposeful walk towards the small group. As he got closer and closer, you could see him in finer detail. Pale skin glowed with an unearthly light, eyes blazed like the fires of hell. Dogs ears flattened against his head in anger, sharp fangs protruded from his mouth, long claws attached to the ends of his fingers. He no longer belonged to this earth, he was a creature of death itself.

"Time to pay for your sins, for my _life!_" the voice sent a shiver into your very soul, cold enough to freeze the blood in your veins.

"H-help me!"

Everyone looked around to see the man hanging from the noose reaching out a hand towards them. He was sweating and his eyes were rolling back, he was shivering and appeared to be in intense pain. "Pl-please!" he spoke again. "Save my soul!"

"Be QUIET!" the white haired man roared as he charged at the other man, but Kagome got there first. She had started sneaking towards gallows from the other mans first word.

She ran up the steps and towards the swinging man, she pulled a small knife out of a pocket in her skirt and cut the rope holding him up.

"NO!" The white haired beast yelled as he lunged at the falling man and Kagome.

"Thank you..." the dark haired man breathed as he fell.

"No..." The white haired man repeated as he started to plummet as well.

Two sickening thumps signified their meeting with the ground.

The group walked over to the black haired man.

"You freed my soul! You freed... Inuyasha." His eyes widened and glazed over, welcomed into death once more.

A groan brought their attention back to the man with snowy hair and dog ears, Inuyasha.

Kagome walked over to him and looked down.

His face lost the deathly pale color in favor of a healthy peach, his expression softened from a hateful glare to a look of peaceful sleep, and after a few moments, he took a long, shuddering breath. If she listened closely enough, she could hear the steady beating of his heart.

Inuyasha was alive once more.

-The Next Day-

Inuyasha blinked open his honey colored eyes to see chocolate brown ones staring down at him.

"YAAAA!" he yelled, sitting up.

Kagome jumped back, shocked by his sudden scream.

"W-Who are you?" he said, huffing and pointing at her.

"My name is Kagome." she said gently.

"What do you want with me?" he asked, a slight tremble in his voice.

"Nothing." she answered softly.

"Then I'm leaving!"

"That's fine."

Kagome watched him get up and stalk off, but he suddenly turned around, "Um... where am I?" he asked, voice meek.

"Hey! Ka...go...me!" Sango walked in to see Inuyasha standing there with a nervous smile and Kagome just looking at him like he was insane. "Kagome, when-?"

"Just now." Kagome interrupted as she walked over to Sango and leaned in close to her ear and whispered, "Apparently," she told her, glancing over at the man who was on his hands and knees sniffing a flower, "he doesn't remember anything."

"Hey!" Inuyasha shouted, "I can hear you!" His eyes widened, "Why can I hear you! You're over there, and, and, I'm over here! Something must be wrong with my ears!" He started feeling around his head, where human ears would be. "Where are my ears!" He asked, panicking. His hands started to crawl upwards, towards the top of his head, where the dog ears lay twitching. His fingers grasped the fuzzy white triangles.

"EEEYAAAAH!"

-In the market, 5 miles away-

"What do ye think that awful noise was?"

"It sounds like the cries of a _demon!_"

"Do ye believe it's getting exorcised?"

"Aye! No other thing could cause it to howl so."

-Back at camp-

Inuyasha stood there huffing, holding on to the new dog ears tightly, eyes wide and fearful. "Whe-when did this happen?"

Kagome's bored gaze turned to one of pity, "You don't remember?"

Inuyasha glared at her, bewildered. "N-no! The last thing I remember before today was waking up with my hands covered in blood! And the next thing I know, I'm being hanged! I've become a-a monster!" he sat down and put his head on his knees and sobbed.

Kagome walked over to him and leaned down and patted his shoulder, "There there, you're not a mon-"

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Inuyasha roared, "DON'T _EVER _TOUCH ME!" He finished, voice underlined by a deep growl, and he roughly pushed Kagome off of him and onto the ground. She looked up into his face and saw crimson eyes with ice blue pupils, jagged purple streaks ripped across his cheeks and long fangs protruded from a mouth twisted into an angry sneer. Inuyasha blinked, eyes and face returning to normal. "I'm sorry." and with that said, he fell onto the ground, unconscious.

"C-come on Sango," Kagome said, lifting herself from the ground, "lets go get some food."

"Right." The other girl agreed with a nod.

-At the Market-

The small town was buzzing with rumors.

"Did ye hear the scream?"

"The gallows are gone!"

"A body... a rotting body... with _black hair!_"

"A demon!"

Kagome and Sango gulped, listening to the conversation.

:L-lets just get the provisions and get out of here!" Sango wailed.

"Um... Sango? I still don't have any money." Kagome whispered.

Said girl smirked, "Who said we were buying anything?"

-Back at Camp-

"I think we lost them!" Sango gasped, a tired smirk graced her face, she was laden with four huge water skins, filled to the brim.

Kagome glared at her, she too, was laden with four heavy bags, but they were filled with various articles of food. "I hate you."

"Aw! At least we have food now!" Sango said brightly.

"Sango! At last you've come!" Miroku ran toward her, arms extended.

"Down boy." she said, swatting his hands away from her rear. "How is... 'Inuyasha'?" She asked, the last word full of loathing.

Miroku's face lost its happy grin in favor of a serious expression. "I had to erect a barrier around him. When he woke up, he kept muttering 'Impure', 'Sorry', 'Kill me', and trying to dash off."

Kagome looked behind Miroku and saw Inuyasha sitting and holding his knees to his chest, rocking back and forth. She walked closer and saw the trails of dried tears, and heard him muttering, the words brought tears to her own eyes.

"I'm impure... sorry... I'M SORRY! Don't... NO! NO NO NO! GET AWAY! ... please... kill me now... lose control... kill you all..."

_The blood of the innocent will stain my soul and I will be cast into the fires of hell once more._

Yay! You made it to the end! I already have the rough draft for chapter 2, and I just need to get it beta'd and posted!

**READ THIS!** I'm beta reader for a story called 'Harry Potter and the Demon Auror' and it has been nominated for best crossover by the IY guild! You guys _have _to go read it... now! But leave a review first!

Reviews happy author. Happy author faster updates and better writing!


	2. Chapter 2

**Blood of the Innocent**

**Chapter 2- Are you afraid of the dark?**

Inuyasha eventually passed out. Whether it was from lack of food or lack of oxygen, no one was really sure. The other residents of the camp took turns watching their fitfully-sleeping guest.

Inuyasha mumbled in his sleep and turned over. Miroku was on watch duty at the moment, and he turned to look at Inuyasha after a second mumble escaped from his sleepy lips. '_Must be having a nightmare,_' was the depraved monk's only thought toward the matter before he returned to his meditative state.

-Inuyasha's Dream-

"You are condemned for the killing of innocents! What have you to say for yourself?" The executioners red eyes bored in to the man.

"It wasn't me!" the man cried hysterically, violet orbs open wide, "I'm innocent!"

The executioner smirked. "If you are truly innocent, then why were you found at the scene of the crime? Why was there blood coating your hands!" The man let loose a wicked laugh. "You are guilty! Grovel at my feet and I may consider letting you free!"

The man's violet eyes lost their fearful look in favor of one brimming with hatred. "If proving my innocence means bowing to you for a crime I did not commit, I'd rather die with my feet in the air and my head held high."

The executioners' smug smile faded for a moment before quickly returning to its former glory. "Very well then! I shall grant your wish!" He reached for the lever to drop the platform on which the condemned man stood. He grasped the handle, and with a wicked laugh, pulled.

The platform fell away from the violet-eyed man's feet and he plummeted towards the earth. The rope tightened around his neck. His pupils contracted and he gasped for air. "Kh...!"

The executioner's sick smile widened still. "How about that! Your neck didn't break! Well, we'll just have to watch you strangle yourself! Any last words, Cretin?"

The man's violet eyes rolled upwards to gaze into the executioner's, "I'll... kill you!"

The all too smug man laughed, "But _you're_ the one who's doing the dying!"

The violet eyes turned a hateful crimson, cerulean pupils formed in the center of the angry orbs. The coal black hair that hung down to his waist turned a snowy white, and a triangular set of white dog ears climbed to rest just above his temples. Deep purple scar-like marks slashed across his cheeks, and long fangs erupted from his mouth. "When I say I'll kill you..." he whispered coldly, "you _WILL_ end up dead!" he finished with a roar, eyes narrowing into a killer's glare. The demon turned his head out toward the gathered crowd. "All of you! I will..." the demon coughed, the lack of oxygen finally taking its toll, "return! And you will pay..." he gasped once more, "for your sins! And..." he coughed again, his voice growing weaker as he continued. "And you will pay for my life!"

-End-

Inuyasha jerked awake and he was once again in the dimly lit camping circle. As he looked around, he noticed that Kagome was still awake and that she was feeding the dying fire with some small sticks she had probably found lying around the campsite.

"Hey."

Kagome jumped at Inuyasha's soft call. She whipped her head around to stare at the man who appeared to have woken up only moments ago. "Hey," she replied softly, placing her right hand over her rapidly beating heart, "You scared me!" she returned her attention to the fire, adding a few more sticks to the dying flames. Turning to face the silver-haired stranger once again, she asked. "What're you doing up, anyway?"

"Hmm..." Inuyasha thought back to his dream, or, more accurately, his flashback. "I just..." his pallid hair glistened in the orangey flames, "had a bad dream."

Kagome completely abandoned the fire, which was now crackling jovially in the once-quiet clearing. "What kind of bad dream?"

Inuyasha's face darkened. "I'd rather not talk about it."

An uncomfortable silence slipped between the two. Kagome looked down at the

ground, watching the shadows flicker from the fires' short flames.

"So," Kagome looked up at Inuyasha's light voice to see him smiling happily, "why are you up so late at night?"

Kagome smiled as well, relieved that the awful quiet had passed, "Watch duty."

Inuyasha blinked, "Watch duty?"

"Yeah." Kagome nodded. "We're in the woods. There are all kinds of things lurking in the darkness. Also..." she trailed off. '_Also, I'm here to make sure you don't kill us in our sleep._' She grimaced at her own thought. '_I can't say that! After all-_'

"Are you afraid of the dark, Kagome?"

Inuyasha's voice ripped Kagome from her unpleasant thoughts. "Huh?"

"Are you afraid of the dark?" he repeated, rather slowly.

"Well..." Kagome thought for a moment. "A lot of things can hide in it, and you can be ambushed-"

"No." Inuyasha interrupted firmly. "Not that kind of darkness."

Kagome blinked, shocked by the sudden interruption. "What," Kagome was almost afraid to ask, "kind of darkness are you talking about?"

Inuyasha's eyes seemed to dull, "Human darkness."

Kagome was confused, "I'm sorry, I just-"

"Don't get it?" Inuyasha interrupted once again. Kagome nodded. Inuyasha closed his eyes and smiled, but it was not a look of happiness. It was a melancholic smile. He opened his amber orbs and gazed straight into Kagome's eyes with a flaming stare. His hair shone in the orange-tinged light and his eyes reflected it with an unearthly illumination. "Most people don't."

"Inuyasha..." Kagome's voice trailed off into nothingness.

"I'm afraid of the dark." Inuyasha looked at the pile of blazing twigs. When he looked up again, his eyes were lifeless and his smile was forced. "Well," his voice was cheerful, though he obviously was not, "it's getting rather late," he lowered himself to the ground, his back to the fire and Kagome. "Goodnight Kagome."

"Goodnight Inuyasha."

-The Next Morning.-

Sango and Miroku noticed tension between their female friend and the cursed male as they walked along the path that would lead them to the next town.

Sango motioned to Miroku, and the two fell further behind.

"So," Miroku began, "what do you think is going on with those two? I don't really care about that Inuyasha fellow, but Kagome seems rather..." he looked to Sango.

"Off," she finished for him, and he nodded. Sango glowered at the back of Inuyasha's pale head. "If he hurt her in any way..." she cracked her knuckles, "I'll kill him."

Miroku clutched the rosary beads that were wrapped around his gloved right hand. "If he _has_ done anything to endanger Kagome's welfare..." he gave the beads a light tug, "I might have to take drastic measures as well."

----------

Kagome looked sideways at Inuyasha. '_What was with him earlier? I understand everything he said, I just don't know why he said it. What kind of nightmare did he have, anyway?_' "Hey, Inuyasha?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

Kagome's eyes expanded, "How do you know what I wanted to ask you?"

He looked at her, "What else would you ask me?" His voice was chilly.

Kagome gulped. "I was... I was..." She looked around wildly for something to ask him about, something other that what she really wanted to know. She spotted Sango and Miroku lagging behind and quietly whispering to one another, she saw Miroku finger the rosary that surrounded his right hand, she frowned. "I was going to ask you what you thought Sango and Miroku were talking about!" She finished triumphantly.

Inuyasha glanced back at the demon slayer and the monk lazily, "I have no idea. After all," he continued rather coldly, "_I_ hardly know them."

Kagome deflated quickly as she heard this. "I just thought," she looked up at him shyly, "you know," she pointed at the white, twitching dog ears that rested at the top of his head, "that you might be able to hear them."

"Why?" He asked angrily, "because I'm a freak!" Kagome took a step back from the livid Inuyasha. "Even if I _could _hear them, I wouldn't tell you what they were saying! That's just plain rude! Besides," he quieted his voice slightly, "they _obviously_ don't want to be heard."

Kagome quietly looked back to see Sango and Miroku staring at her before they quickly returned to their discussion. "H-hey!" Everyone looked over at Kagome when they heard her shaky call. "L-let's make camp, it's getting kinda dark."

-After Sunset-

Inuyasha was resting against a tree at the edge of camp, just outside the circle of light, head lowered, eyes closed, seemingly asleep. Miroku, Sango, and Kagome were sitting around the customary campfire.

Kagome glanced around the circle, and then she glanced back at the fire. "Hey Sango?" She asked, lifting her gaze to stare at the other female.

"Yeah?"

"Are you afraid of the dark?"

Sango looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"Human darkness."

Sango thought for a moment. "I don't get it."

Kagome lowered her gaze once again to the dancing flames. "Me neither."

Unseen by the other campers, a tear slipped down Inuyasha's face to land on his red-clothed leg.

First off: Sorry about the shortness everyone!

Secondly: OMG! Responses! Yay! I only got 4 reviews from the 32 hits, but who's to complain? **_32 hits!_**

Third: I have chapter 3 drafted and most of chapter 4 drafted already. All I have to do is type it then get it beta'd. Cries at the thought of typing

Fourth: Big thank you's go out to DogEarFetish, who so kindly beta'd this!

Fifth I only thought this would get up to 'second': Review responses come next time! I'm in a rush at the moment! Sorry! Proceeds to bow and scrape


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